Posts Tagged ‘film ratings’
“It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine”*…
Recently, the serious press has been abuzz with articles exploring the prospect of civilizational decline– or collapse. (C.f., “How Do You Know When a Society Is About to Fall Apart?” and “The Next Decade Could Be Even Worse.”) But perhaps, The Centre for Applied Echatology suggests, that focus is a bit too narrow…
The twenty-first century is unique in human history. At no other time has our species possessed more numerous and powerful means to end the world as we know it. The previous century gave us nuclear weapons; our own era adds new innovations — breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, nanotech, bioengineering, and other technologies — to the growing number of paths to anthropogenic apocalypse.
At present, it is difficult to estimate the likelihood of a global catastrophe. Researchers who study such scenarios vary in their conclusions. The best estimates place the chances of humanity surviving the present century somewhere between 9% and 50%.
This is an unacceptable level of uncertainty. We can do better…
The Centre for Applied Eschatology is a transdisciplinary research center dedicated to ending the world. We connect professionals from the public sector, private industry, and academia to develop new knowledge and apply existing research to curtail the world’s long-term future.
We’re working for no tomorrow, today…
Big changes start with small acts of individuals. Like you.
You may not know it, but you’re already helping. Every day...
Housed at the arts non-profit Fractured Atlas, The Centre for Applied Eschatology makes its point in a powerfully– and painfully- ironic way: “Bringing an end – to everyone, everywhere!“
[TotH to friend MS]
{image above: source]
* REM
###
As we contemplate conclusion, we might note that it will be on this date in 2115 that the film 100 Years will be released. Written by (and starring) John Malkovich and directed by Robert Rodriguez, its advertising tagline is “The File You Will Never See.”
Malkovich and Rodriguez announced in November 2015 that they had teamed with Louis XIII Cognac, owned by Rémy Martin, to create a film inspired by the hundred years it takes to make a bottle of Louis XIII. Pending release, the film is being kept in a high-tech safe behind bulletproof glass that will open automatically on this date in 2115, the day of the film’s premiere. One thousand guests from around the world, including Malkovich and Rodriguez, have received a pair of invitation tickets (made of metal) for the premiere, which they can hand down to their descendants. The safe in which 100 Years is kept was showcased at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival (and a few other cities) before being returned to Cognac, France and the Louis XIII cellars.
See a teaser trailer here.
Shadows on the wall of a cave…
Detail
2000 films. 20 genres. 100 years… The History of Film.
Created by Larry Gormley, the timeline…
…chronicles the history of feature films from the origins in the 1910s until the present day. More than 2000 of the most important feature-length films are mapped into 20 genres spanning 100 years. Films selected to be included have: won important awards such as the best picture Academy Award; achieved critical acclaim according to recognized film critics; are considered to be key genre films by experts; and/or attained box office success.
It is resolutely seen through the eyes of a U.S. cinema-goer (so misses many European, Latin American, and Asian candidates); but still, much fun!
click here for zoomable version
Special exuberant extra:
###
As we shake a little extra salt onto our popcorn, we might recall that it was on this date in 1968 that the Motion Picture Association of America’s film-rating system was introduced. On the heels of the release of films like The Pawnbroker, Blow-Up, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, MPAA President Jack Valenti was under pressure from studios and exhibitors alike to find a replacement for The Hayes Code, which had been in effect since the early 30s. The result was the G- PG- R-X rating system that lasted until 1990, when X was replaced by NC-17.
For a peek behind the curtain at how this self-regulatory system does (and doesn’t) work, readers can screen Kirby Dick’s doc, This Film is Not Yet Rated.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen; this is your Captain screaming…
Bruce Dickinson is known for belting out “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter,” “Die With Your Boots On,” and “Holy Smoke.” So who better to become head of marketing at an airline business than the Iron Maiden frontman known as The Air-Raid Siren?
Mr Dickinson, 51, has landed the job at the Gatwick-based Astraeus Airlines, which leases planes and crews to carriers including British Airways, BMI and easyJet… He is already well known to Astraeus. Between gigs, Mr Dickinson flies its aircraft – running up 7,000 hours on Boeing 737 and 757 jets.
Read the full story in The Telegraph (and learn of Dickinson’s humanitarian relief flights here).
Dickinson and Iron Maiden, “Tailgunner”
As we buckle our seat belts, we might recall that it was on this date in 1990 that the Motion Picture Association of America replaced it’s “X” rating with “NC-17.” The MPAA’s (self-regulated) film rating system was created in 1968 to replace the Hays Code, which had been in force since the 30’s; the original version of the ratings assigned an “X” to films with content deemed to strong for non-adult audiences– e.g., Midnight Cowboy, Last Tango in Paris. But with the rise of the pornography industry, which often released its films with “X” (or “XXX”) badges, the “X” became synonymous with smut. When newspapers began to refuse to carry ads for any film with an “X” rating, films like The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer found it very hard, their positive reviews notwithstanding, to get release. And so, the MPAA jettisoned the “X.” Henry and June was the first film to be released with an NC-17 rating.
You must be logged in to post a comment.